Some News

"Lilienthal on vintage photographs"

look back 2016 - 125th anniversary of human flight

Together with the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) we realized the plan to test a historically accurate replica of the world's first series-produced aircraft as it was built by Lilienthal (wind tunnel tests in the Netherlands included).

Otto Lilienthal's First Film

Johannes Hogebrink from the Netherlands realized an animation of a flight in 1895 - designed using the museum's archives of original photographs.

New stained glass artwork in the baptistry of Lilienthal

The choir of St. Nicholas Church in Anklam shows itself in a new colorful design. The author is Graham Jones, architectural glass artist from London, who was the winner of a competition for the job. He has presented his masterpiece on 19 December in Anklam. The new windows are another step in progress of the project Ikareum - Lilienthal Flight Museum.

Geocaching

There has been released a Geocoin for the first successfull aviator and his birthtown.

Without tracking code it is an attractive medal in different performances, too.

Lilienthal and Wright

Regardless from the neverending question "who was the first?" the Wright brothers "Flyer" was the fundamental breakthrough for the practical used successful airplane.

In the same way Lilienthal was not the first to build and fly an experimental aircraft. But he realized the first repeated human flights with artificial wings from the top of a hill to the ground over a distance of about 800 feet between the years of 1891 and 1896.

From May, 18th to October a replica of "Wright A", built from 1910 to 1914 in the most successful Wright factory in Berlin is shown in baptistry of Otto Lilienthal, the St. Niclas church out of the 13. century.

Glider out of the Otto-Lilienthal-Museum and "Wright A" at the exhibition "Centennial of Wright flights in Europe", Le Mans (France), 2008.

The Museum presents a new edition of the book: Wright in Germany, available in German only). This is the first publication about the Wright factory in Germany, at that time the most successful one in Europe, and the outstanding role of the Wright brothers on the development of aviation in Germany.

Already two years ago there has been a joint celebration of Lilienthal and Wright: On October 24, 1911, Orville Wright soared for almost 10 minutes in North Carolina, U.S.A., and started the sport and science of modern soaring as we know it today. That record held for almost 10 years.

A century later this has been the occasion for an international celebration called SOARING100 at the original location. The Otto-Lilienthal-Museum participated with a lecture.

Accession with attractive history

The museum received a valuable glider library as a gift. The library contains about 1,500 volumes, including French and English titles, as well as numerous titles from the early days of gliding. Adding to the online library of the museum will take some time to complete.

A wooden airscrew from WWI with an interesting history has found its way to the museum. The challenge tropy went through the hands of several pilots. The history is retraceable to Kuno Annas, who was a mechanic of Manfred v. Richthofen, the "Red Baron". In working with the interrupter gear it has been damaged and he kept it as an souvenir.

Replicas

Hardly a Lilienthal aircraft endured the test of time. Therefore the Lilienthal-aircrafts have a long tradition of reconstruction: The first, who build several such replicas in the 1920s, was the Berlin film and aviation pioneer Hans Richter. For the museum Stephan Nitsch explored all necessary details.

There is an impressive website of a Canadian replica builder, too: Stephane Boisvert.

"Otto Lilienthal - To fly like a bird"

The official guide to the museum is available in English now.
The Lilienthal glider and aircraft constructions, life,
accomplishments, landmarks of his work and life in Germany - summed up
in our museum brochure.

Collection News

The failed project for an
aircraft designed on the basis of premium automobile technology, with
high-end diesel engines, convenience and safety has a place in the
museum:

Here are some very exciting
acquistions to the Museum's collection:
With the help of different partners, we have been able to purchase some
very significant and spectacular new objects for the museum's collection: